STITCH: Where did we park?

Stitch and Sweetie Bear came along with us this time on our visit to Epcot. Here are some photos from their visit:

GAY: My prince submission to Micoofy

[Here's the email I sent Micoofy.]

Howdy,
I just wanted to say that you have a nice blog. I'm also a big disney fan who also admires the aspiring princes around the parks. I never considered myself shameless enough to take pictures of them, but hey, you inspired me. So I wanted to send you a pic of one that I spotted at Epcot this weekend... board shorts, button-up shirt, sunglasses, and clean shoes... and nice haircut and torso. Anyways, I hope you enjoy it. I'm going to refrain from including a shameless link to my blog here, but if you're interested just let me know.

I hope you have a wonderful trip to the Disney parks, and remember... your parents can still tell where your eyes are focused at. :P Have fun!
~Cedric

EVENT: OGC "From Crayons to Perfume"

After quenching our Disney fixes, Irene and Masayo and I headed to Downtown Orlando (Orlando, Orlando, Orlando...) for the Orlando Gay Chorus concert "From Crayons to Pefume". This would be my third OGC concert and their first. We stopped by the tea house first for a quick bite. This wasn't any of our first times here ;)

Masayo had the Veggie sandwich hold the cheese on Whole Wheat (yum!):
Irene had the Yellow Curry Chicken Salad sandwich on Pumpernickel (yum!):
And I had the Toasted Triple Decker on White (yum!):
After we finished eating and a quick costume change, we were off to the concert. Here's a picture of Cori and me:
The concert was being held at the Plaza Theatre to a near capacity crowd (800+ seats!). My friend Bill met up with us before the show. Here he is with the ladies:
The program was very well-balanced between fun and more-serious selections. It was nice to see all the singers dressed up fabulously and proud (They all clean up really well!). And the director was quite nice too... (sassy sassy -- sorry no pics of the ensemble). Here's a scan of the program:During intermission, I went by the silent auction table and spied Peaches! (Awww, Peaches). He's so nice and so much fun. I just had to get my picture taken with him for my sister who got to meet him at the last OGC performance:Orlando provides the sense of home, family, and community that my hopeful heart needs. And I'm always happy to share her with my friends. What a great day and great night!

JOURNAL: 5 pictures left

Whoa, today was a really good day. My friends Irene and Masayo and I did Epcot, then headed in town to the tea house before the "From Crayons to Perfume" OGC performance.

I had my 256MB CF card in my digital camera and had been progressively reviewing the photos because I had quickly filled up the card. By the end of the night, I had about 130 pictures and only had room for 5 more.

The selective photo-saving left me with a good crop of photos, with many options as far as photo blog groupings. I'll figure it all out tomorrow morning. Right now I'm hungry again!

PUG: Dingo - Feed the Beast

JOURNAL: I need a life.

Notice that I didn't write INAH. Because I'm feeling okay on that front. I'm just stir-crazy from being in-house, in Melbourne all day -- it was productive, yet not so... a couple shoulda's are that I shoulda applied the pest control chems I bought from WM and that I shoulda worked on the large pile of clothes that need to be ironed. I need to find a local do-something-with buddy. Seriously. Maybe that's why I post so much. Happy I'd probably be when I post only a couple times each week. I really need to start writing my next Toastmasters speech. Maybe I'll just go lay in bed. It's almost 11pm.

RUN: 3.1-ish miles @28:45, Home <--> Murrell

New shoes, new socks, with shirt, music, and a bottle of water.

I ran it easy and even took off my patella guard (rt) after .6 miles.

It was a good run. Still friggin' hot (and it's 6pm!). The music and sweatband helped a lot.

I listened to my "20060621 Good Week" playlist:
       1. Sick Puppies - "All the Same"
       2. Fergie - "Big Girls Don't Cry"
       3. Jamiroquai - "Seven Days in Sunny June"
       4. The Trouble With Sweeney - "L.T.W.T.M.S."
       5. The Fray - "Heaven Forbid"

The songs make me picture a long, car-ride with the windows down, with no appointments scheduled and no pressure for plans.

The run was something I've been thinking about for three days now, and it was exactly what I needed.

Here are your pics:

JOURNAL: 51+

Looking at the Archive drop-down box on the right side of this blog, I see that this entry would be post #51 for this month! My record for most posts in a month is November 2006 (57 times).

Back then, I was busy with running camp and local races, with friends and social outings, with food pic entries, and regular Top 3 postings (I miss those).

Compare that with this month: lots of Gay Day and gorgeous entries, videos (lazy or just easily distracted?), dog posts (bulldog, pug, and driving varieties), news articles, and home improvement entries.

What a difference a few months make!

There's no doubt that I'll break the record this month (I have an entire week left!), but how high will I go and if July will be like April 2007 in which I only made 21 posts (actually, there were some quality posts in there)... so quantity or quality? We'll just have to see.

Anyways, thanks for hanging with me y'all, and if y'all have any requests, just let me know, and I'll try to accommodate. Okay, so I'll try for a Top 3 list sometime on Monday.

Okies. CFN.
~Ced

GAY: a Disney fan more shameless than me

An unassuming post on the WDWMagic message boards brought me to the Micoofy website, a young gay disney fan's blog. Pull back the It's basically a picture album of hotties he saw at the parks. Granted, I don't agree with some of his choices, but he gets my kudos for his shamelessnessness. Ooo... I like these:

JOURNAL: It's Raining

What a good feeling it is to be outside when it gradually starts to rain. I was outside applying Roundup to my driveway crevices when it began to rain... not rain men... but still... it was nice.

Yeah, that's it.

JOURNAL: Mr. Gay USA Rs&Rs

After a short and surprisingly pleasant week of work -- steady and successful stream of coding work, resolution to an operating mystery, Lots of Panera bagels, and good/healthy/positive interaction (and help!) from my officemate -- I'm just taking it easy at home today... cleaning and catching up -- it can't always be fun and games. Anyways...

I was cleaning papers and all when I came across a brochure for the Mr. Gay USA pageant that I received at the Expo during Gay Days. It's purpose was to encourage people to try out for it. Included was a description of the contest phases:
       1. Personal Interview
       2. Creative Formal Wear
       3. Talent
       4. Swimwear ("Thongs are not allowed.")

Also included was its list of its rules and regulations. It is here that I found something that prompted this entry:

Rule #13: "No excessive glitter, fire, water, unwrapped straw (hay), or live animals may be used in any category in this competition."

A few of my immediate thoughts...
       - You can use live animals?
       - What's considered excessive?
       - Haaaay

So I ventured to the USAUnlimited.org site and checked out the current list of Rs&Rs and noticed that the rule (now rule #5) had been clarified.

"5. Any type of talent presentation is acceptable, except those that may cause injury to the audience or any other person. No excessive glitter will be permitted. No fire, water or bales of straw/hay that are not wrapped may be used in any talent. No live animals or reptiles may be used in any category. **This rule falls for all categories that you will compete in."

Boo :P

VIDEO: Fun Picture-Takings

I really should be in bed right now.

Photo Mistakes - The most amazing videos are a click away

PUG: Don't Give Up. Don't Give Up.

Oooo... Awww... HA!

PUG: From YouTube.

By the end of the video, one of them will be dead.

Just kidding, it's just a very cute video of a little girl and her pug.

PUG: Puggies Playing with Meditation Balls

Awww. They're just like Poker and Euchre. Now I want to get two pugs.

PUG: SweetPea

Yesterday after work, I went over to a friend-of-a-friend's house to take a look and spend some time with a potential pug, a one-year-old female pug named SweetPea. She's healthy and happy. Here she is:She's quite active, and it was difficult to get a good [non-blurry] picture of her. Here's a picture of Olive (the other pug) being held by their owner as SweetPea looks on wanting to play too.Olive has a flatter face and some breathing issues because she has a more pronounced wrinkle of skin above her nose, so she makes a snorting sound and get more easily winded (just like Euchre!) -- she even gallops like a bulldog. SweetPea has longer legs and is more active. Here's a picture SweetPea being held for the camera:Although, the companionship would be wonderful, I think that the fact that I work so far from home and my inexperience are the reasons I wouldn't be able to take on this responsibility right now. Still, what wonderful dogs SweetPea and Olive are.

HOUSE: A Refurb HI

Today after work, I came home and took on the task of re-working the curtain in my kitchen. I had previously used a sewing machine to make the sleeve for the pole, but it wasn't going to hold up for long -- the sewing machine was inexpensive, and I didn't know how to use it. Anyways, a co-worker told me about this adhesive iron-on tape that some people use as a substitute to traditional stitching. So I gave it a try, and I think it turned out well. Here are a couple pictures of me with the finished product...

and some pics of Stitch modeling the recent HI projects: [NOTE: I also found out that the "Have a nice day at work" mirror is also a "Welcome back home from work" mirror! woo hoo! :)]

JOURNAL: Old Lady + Lipstick + Car = Photo Op

So I leave work a little early and am on Eau Gaullie, the left lane. It was nearly a parking lot -- it was so packed. But I noticed a big 3-car-length gap towards the front right. I turn my head even more, and I see an old lady seriously putting on lipstick, oblivious to the dozen cars behind her. I totally had to take a picture -- yay! to having camera in the car.I do admit to occasionally flossing while behind the wheel, but I'm also paying attention!!! Seriously, I should've waited for her to look over at me then taken another picture of her... What?... at least she would've had her lipstick on.

RUN: 2 miles @15:30, Home <--> Target

Tonight I ran a very easy 2 miles. It was around 7:30pm -- nice and cool. And I actually did some stretching. My knee started hurting halfway through, but I found that it helped to run faster. I think that my left leg is longer than my right.

Anyways, tonight was quite productive. I put an extra hour in at work then came home and got right to cleaning the front of my car. It's been almost four seasons of lovebugs that had accumulated on my front bumper. I finally got around to it. It took a little over an hour with a hose and cloth to clean it:

BeforeAfter
And in the spirit of marathon cleaning (ala pressure-washing the entire driveway after mowing the lawn), I washed the rest of the car (ala a high school fund-raiser) and then rain-x'ed all of the windows.

It's after this that I went out for my run, then I called my friend's friend to schedule an appointment to see a pug for possible adoption, then I started a load of laundry while I cooked some breakfast-for-dinner: 2 whole eggs + 4 extra egg whites, a dutch apple & raisin bagel, an entire can of whole kernel corn, a couple glasses of water, and a pint of beer. And I watched part of Casino Royale while eating dinner (Daniel Craig can definitely wear the linens!).

Anyways, I put up the mirror in the laundry room and am now about to head to bed. ... quite a bit for one night.

Here's your sweaty pic of the day:

HOUSE: HI Again

Mirror in the Laundry Room, so I can see how unkept I am as I head out to work... I'm so vain.

DISNEY: From WDWMagic

I found this from one of the WDWMagic message boards.

     My wife says we can't go back until we have kids. :(

Awww.

HOUSE: Late Night HI

A little home improvement project tonight before bed:

VIDEO: SYTYCD S3, Jessi & Pasha, Smooth Waltz

This is my favorite couple of the season so far. Pasha's adorable... like an innocent Russian Topher Grace. And I didn't know that Jessi's from Rockledge!

Video clip:

VIDEO: Britain's Got Talent, Paul Potts

Like Billy Elliot and The Cider House Rules, this brought me to tears (in the good way).

From Rickey.org:
Okay Paul Potts from Britain’s Got Talent has gone viral on the Internet. I am getting e-mail links from all sorts of people about him.

The Britain’s Got Talent finale is tonight June 17 in Britain of course, so our U.K. friends will hopefully inform us in a few hours if Paul Potts did indeed win Britain’s Got Talent (which in the U.K. is a daily show and not a weekly like America’s Got Talent).

RUN: 4+ miles in Heat. Home <--> Interlachen

6:00pm is still too early to run nowadays.

It was friggin' hot outside. And it was a harsh reintroduction to running. I've been averaging 1 1/2 days of running/week with an average of maybe 3 miles. Today I put in 4+. I carried half-a-bottle of water, of which half went in my mouth and the other half on top of my head. I could feel the steam rising from the back of my neck.

Before the run, I had put on a layer of sunscreen on everything except my face. Also, I applied a quick layer of bug spray (as learned from last time I ran here). I also carried a face towel to wipe away my sweat, and it was very very much needed.

One of the factors of my non-aggressive running schedule is my fear that I'll ruin my knees. Many times after I run or a long day of walking, my knees feel beat up. And I've attributed it to my habit of sashaying instead of walking normally. Upon greater analyzation, I've come to the further conclusion that it's because I'm using more my lower legs to run instead of my abs.

I've always had weak abs. In middle school gym class, I could do more than a dozen pull-ups, run the sub-8-minute mile, but I had to work hard to get the 56 sit-ups in a minute to earn the Presidential Fitness Award. I looked like I have six-pack abs because I've always been pretty lean. Now that I'm not running as much, they're starting to fade away... fade away...

That's what happens when you get older... and gayer.

I need to stop my swishing and get serious about my running... I've got three months before the Disneyland Half-Marathon, and I want to be ready, willing, and able to finish the darn thing. I've run 8 half-marathons and 2 fulls, but this will be the most difficult as far as training goes.

Anyways, here's the pic from the run. Enjoy.

JOURNAL: Weekend Report

I just got back from an overnight in Orlando and some run-around-errand-doing, and I just feel like I lay down a mind spill about it.

As mentioned in the last post, I was heading to Orlando for some dim sum. I met up with Pom and her friend Jephanie, also a local restaurateur, at the busy Ming's Bistro off of Mills Ave. There wasn't so much the fancy Asian ambiance, but the food was delicious. The breakthroughs for me were their chive cake dumplings, shrimp-stuffed eggplant, and lotus-paste sesame balls; they were phenomenal. I'll definitely be bringing my family over there the next time they visit (in addition to Pom Pom's and Boma).

Food Pic and OW Review
From there, Pom and I did some grocery shopping and headed back to her apartment to relax and to start prepping dinner (we invited Jephanie and Lindsey over). Pom prepared a Hungarian meat sauce for pasta, and put together some sangria (ala blush wine, sprite, orange juice, and fresh pineapple, mango, and apples). I was the official escort for the night. The food was very nice -- clean flavors and hearty, healthy. I admire Pom's talent in the kitchen and what a good person she is. I had downed a glass-and-a-half of the sangria, so my head was reeling some from the quick sugar-and-alcohol intake (it's been a while), so I called it a night "early" and slept deep.

Drink Pic
In the morning, Pom and I lazed in the living room watching E! news then decided to head out for breakfast. I first suggested Panera's but decided to take Pom over the the P-House instead (on a whim). I felt a need for something calm and gay. I've eaten at the Rainbow Cafe for breakfast before, and it was good. This morning, I had the french toast, home fries, and grits; it was simple and exactly what I needed. I cleaned my plate, just like at all the other meals I've had this weekend.

After dropping Pom off at her apartment, I still had a craving for bagels from Panera's (not so much to eat right then, but to have... my precious), so I drove over to the one by Lake Eola and picked up a baker's dozen (mixed). I've had the craving for a couple weeks now. Spurned on by hearing of one of my friend's near-daily ritual, it also reminds me of visiting my sister -- she'd pick me up from the airport then drop me off at the house to play with the doggies while she goes back to work; she'd tell me that there are some bagels from Panera's in the freezer if I'm hungry. And that's a really good memory.

Anyways, after dropping the bagels off in the car, I decided to take the camera out and walk around the lake to check out the "newly" repainted amphitheater -- this was done by the Disney Company, so this walk would serve both as my Disney fix and my exercise for the day [read: week]. Also happening was the Lake Eola Sunday Market. I didn't buy anything, but it was nice to walk around and see people outside enjoying the day for the day. It was a nice send off back to Melbourne.

I miss Orlando already.
Eola Pics

HOUSE: Powder

This morning I slept in til 9am. I stumbled around for a while, captured the Disney PhotoPass pictures from Gay Days while watching my VHS-ed episodes of Sex in the City (season 2), then headed outside where I masked and goggled up to try to take care of the dirty side of my house. I got a hard brush and just worked the dirty spots. For some places I saw a clear difference (and it made me feel good). In other places, the pink just turned to an orange-ish color (and that's just too bad). I'm figuring that it could just use a good washing with a bleach-like concoction. I didn't spend too long out there (~30 minutes) but I got out, got sweaty, and got my DIY fix for the day. Now I'm preparing to head to Orlando for some dim sum. Mmmmm!

Anyways, the scraping released wall powders, which I got all over my hand and arms. Here are the pics: